


At the End of Your Rope, I'll Be Holding You Taut

by Spiderlass



Series: Tales From Duckburg! [5]
Category: Darkwing Duck (Cartoon 2018), DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: ADHD Character, Autistic Character, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Moving Out, Trans Male Character, adhd Gosalyn, adhd dewey, and over the past year your life has changed so much already, autistic Drake, autistic/adhd Launchpad, change is hard, dyslexic dewey, especially when you're a kid, trans male drake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-11-15 11:11:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20865251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spiderlass/pseuds/Spiderlass
Summary: Launchpad and Drake move out of the manor. The kids... don't take it well.





	At the End of Your Rope, I'll Be Holding You Taut

Launchpad sighed as he finished taping up yet another boxes, wiping the sweat off his brow with his cap.

“Okay, so is _ that _the last box?” Gosalyn asked, a small box labelled “toiletries” in her arms.

“Just about, but I’ve still got some stuff I need to pack up.”

Gosalyn groaned melodramatically, shifting the box around so it was under her arm.

“Pops, you lived in a _ garage, _ how do you have so much _ stuff!” _

“Hey, this isn’t even everything I had here! I probably got rid of half of it between the donation pile and the stuff I just threw out.”

“The point stands!”

Launchpad laughed, shaking his head as he stood up and walked over to her, ruffling her hair.

“Well, just think, since your dad paid for people to move all his old stuff from his parents’ place, once all my stuff and the stuff he had here are all packed up into the moving van, we can head over to the new house!”

“Yeah!” Gosalyn cheered, holding the box over her head. “Come on, Pops! Race you to the van!”

Launchpad laughed as she took off towards the van they’d rented, shaking his head as he turned back to the box he’d just finished packing.

Which was no longer there.

“Huh?” Launchpad blinked, furrowing his brow as he looked around the garage. “That’s weird...”

“What’s weird, big guy?” Drake asked as he walked into the garage, carrying a large box labelled “LP’s clothes” in his arms.

“Well, I coulda sworn I left a box of stuff right there,” Launchpad started as he walked over to his boyfriend, taking the box from him, “but I looked away to talk to Gosalyn, and when I looked back it was gone.”

“Hm. Do you think she could have taken it?”

“No, she already had a box when she came in here.” Launchpad frowned, shifting the box onto his shoulder and putting his other hand on his hip. “You know, I feel like that keeps happening to me- I look away from a box I just packed, and when I look back, it’s disappeared!”

“Uh, well, that sounds frustrating, and isn’t holding the box like that kinda hard on your shoulder?”

“Eh? Oh, no, not really. Could probably carry more if I had to.”

“... riiiight, you can bench press like six of me, can’t you?”

“Dunno, as far as I know there’s only one of you.” Launchpad paused. “Unless S.H.U.S.H has been cloning you or something. They haven’t, had they?”

“God I hope not.” Drake frowned, folding his arms across his chest. “Still, what could be causing your stuff to disappear like that?”

“Maybe it’s a ghost!” 

Launchpad blinked, turning to see Huey, Dewey, and Louie standing in the doorway to the garage. 

“A ghost?”

“Yeah!” Louie started as he and Huey walked over to them. “There are like, _ tons _of restless spirits in this place, right?”

“Maybe one of them decided they don’t want you to leave!” Huey added. “And, and they’re going to keep you here by any means necessary!”

“Which means we’re going to have to go on a lengthy, harrowing adventure through the manor to find them, where we’ll all bond and have so much fun together like we always do!” Dewey finished. 

All three boys looked up at him with big, shiny eyes and matching huge grins. Launchpad arched an eyebrow.

“... or I could just ask Duckworth?”

They blinked, grins slowly sliding off their faces.

“Wait say wha?” Dewey asked.

“Y’know, Jarvis Duckworth? Mr. McDee’s butler? Daschund, about this tall, spectral? He’s a ghost, right? So he’d probably know if there was some spirit in the house haunting me.”

“Er... well, I guess, but-!”

“Hey, uh, Duckworth? You here?” Launchpad asked, taking a step back.

The lights flickered a few times, then wisps of blue, fog-like energy appeared, swirling around higher and higher until the semi-transparent spirit of Duckworth stepped out of the spiral.

“You rang, Mr. McQuack?”

“No, I called, but that’s not the point. Have there been any restless spirits running around the manor recently? Specifically any that might get attached to me and steal my stuff so I can’t move out?”

“I assure you, sir, the only active and uncontained spectral entity in this manor is me. However, if it would please you, I will check on all the paranormal beings that Mr. McDuck has brought here over the years to make sure they haven’t escaped their respective imprisonments.”

“That would be great, Duckworth, thanks.”

Duckworth nodded, then disappeared in a puff of blue smoke.

“Huh, well, so much for that theory. Good try, though, guys-!” Launchpad paused when he turned back to the triplets, who were currently arguing amongst themselves.

“How did you forget about _ Duckworth?!” _ Dewey whisper-yelled right in Huey’s face. “He’s literally _ a ghost butler!” _

“Yes, because _ that’s _ obviously the _ first _thing someone would think of in this situation!”

“It is in _ this _house!” Louie argued.

“Uh, guys? Everything okay?”

All three boys jumped, turning to him with matching innocent expressions.

“Y-Yeah! Of, of course everything’s fine!” Huey started.

“We just, uh, just don’t want anything to- to make this harder than it needs to be!” Dewey added.

“Because we... we love you, Launchpad,” Louie finished with a surprising amount of sincerity. 

Launchpad blinked, then smiled, putting down the box and walking over to the boys before kneeling down and pulling all three of them into a hug.

“Aw, I love you guys too. And I’m really glad you’ve been so cool with all of this. I know it’s a big change, me moving out of the manor, but I want you to know that you’ve all been a big help in making this a lot easier-!”

He felt all three boys tense, and he frowned, discovering that they all had rather guilty looks on their faces when he let them go.

“What?”

They all flinched, and Huey opened his mouth as if to admit something before Dewey and Louie both covered his beak.

“Nothing!” Dewey said quickly.

“Just- just glad we can help, that’s all!” Louie added.

Huey sighed, prying their hands off of his beak. 

“Guys-!”

They quickly covered his mouth again.

“In fact, we’re- we’re gonna go, uh... work on the banner for your going away party!”

“Huh? Wait, but that was-!”

“Bye Launchpad, bye DW!” Dewey called as he and Louie ushered Huey out of the garage.

“Yesterday... huh. That was... weird,” Launchpad said as he looked back at Drake, who simply shrugged.

“Kids are weird, LP.” He turned back towards the house. “I’m going to get another box from my room. Tell Gosalyn to head up when you see her, okay?”

“You got it, babe!” Launchpad called as he stood up, dusting his pants off before turning towards where he’d put his box down, only to discover it about two feet away. “Huh? That’s weird, coulda sworn I didn’t put it down that close to the wall...”

He heard a squeak when he picked it up, blinking and tilting his head when he saw Webby hiding behind the box.

“Uh, hi, Webby. What are you doing in the garage?”

“Er, I, um... I was just looking fooooor... this!” Webby declared as she picked up a crowbar. 

“You... were looking for a crowbar?”

“Yes! I need it for... reasons! But, but now I have it, soooooo... I’m gonna go, bye!”

Launchpad blinked as she dashed out of the garage, then shrugged.

“Man, I sure hope that kids seem less weird as I get more used to the whole parent thing...”

* * *

“This... doesn’t seem right,” Launchpad noted as he observed the barely half-full moving van. “I know I got rid of a lot of stuff when I was packing, but I’m pretty sure I had more stuff than this.”

“Yeah, and I didn’t have a lot of stuff here, but I’m pretty sure I’m missing at least a couple boxes of clothes.” Drake paused. “Which is actually most of the clothes I had here, now that I think about it.”

“You sure you didn’t just pack a lot of stuff into fewer boxes than you expected?” Gosalyn asked, folding her arms across her chest. “I mean, I usually think I have a lot of stuff, but I know it’s no more than one duffel bag’s worth.”

“Yeah, we’re gonna need to take you shopping later. But no, I’m pretty sure that I packed way more boxes than are here.” Launchpad scratched the back of his head. “What in the world is going on?”

Drake shrugged, turning back towards the house. 

“Well, I suppose there’s nothing to do but look through the house again... the giant house that’s bigger than some neighborhoods...”

He and Gosalyn let out matching groans, and Launchpad sighed, shaking his head.

“I mean, they have to be somewhere, right-?”

“Hey, guys!” Four voices called out in unison; when Launchpad looked up, he saw Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby standing in the doorway to the manor. 

“What’s up?” Huey asked.

“Yeah, you look kinda down,” Louie added. 

“Uh, well, turns out like, _ a lot _of my stuff is missing, so we’re gonna have to search the manor for it-!”

“Oh, but that could take _ forever!” _Webby interrupted. 

“So you might as well forget about it and stay the night, right? Leave it til the morning!” Dewey finished.

“Uh... it’s only like, one thirty in the afternoon, guys,” Gosalyn pointed out as they ascended the steps. “It probably won’t take _ that _long. In fact, if you guys help out-!”

_ “No!” _ All four kids shouted in unison, effectively blocking them from entering the manor.

“Whoa, okay, geez, you don’t have to help! Just step aside and-!”

“No!” Webby repeated, shaking her head. “We- we can’t do that!”

“Huh? Why not?” Launchpad asked.

“Because... because... because we just can’t!” 

Out of the corner of his eye, Launchpad saw Drake frown and put his hands on his hips.

“Alright, that’s it- just what are you four up to?”

“Whaaaaaat?” Louie said with a nervous chuckle. “We’re, heh, w-we’re not up to anything! Why, why would you even think that?”

“Nice try, kid, but I’ve been lied to way too many times to fall for that. What’s going on?”

Huey’s face crumpled, but before he could say anything Dewey slapped his hand over his beak again.

“Nothing’s going on! Really!” He claimed. “We- we’re just... just-!”

“Dewey, stop,” Huey started as he pulled his hand off his beak. “Guys, we- we need to come clean, this isn’t fair.”

“You don’t think we _ know _ that?!” Louie snapped. _ “None _ of this is fair, that’s _ why _we’re doing this!”

Launchpad blinked, then frowned, narrowing his eyes and folding his arms across his chest. 

“Doing _ what, _exactly?”

All four of them flinched, and whatever fight they had left in them seemed to flee all at once, leaving them all looking incredibly guilty. 

“Kids. What did you do?” Drake asked.

“We... um... we might’ve, sorta, kinda... might’ve-!”

Just then, there was a crash from within the manor, followed by a quacky screech. 

“Donald? Are you okay- _ what in the world?!” _

The four kids flinched.

“Uh-oh...” Huey murmured.

“Well, maybe- maybe they won’t-!”

_ “BOYS!” _Della and Donald both shouted.

“What’s going on- _ Webbigail Rosemary Vanderquack!” _

“All four of you, get your tail feathers into the boys’ room, _ now!” _Della finished. 

They all flinched again, exchanging nervous glances before slowly going back inside and trudging up the stairs. Launchpad furrowed his brow, following them with Drake and Gosalyn by his side. When they arrived at the triplets’ room, Launchpad was shocked to see Donald standing in a veritable landslide of of boxes that had spilled out of the boys’ closet, Della and Mrs. Beakley standing next to him. They all had matching disapproving glares, and it wasn’t until he realized that all of the boxes had either his or Drake’s name on them that he understood why.

“Oh,” he said quietly, heart sinking. “So... so that’s where they all went...”

“Would you four care to explain what these are doing in this closet rather than in the moving van where they belong?” Mrs. Beakley asked, folding her arms across her chest in the way that meant either a dust bunny was about to be busted into oblivion or an intruder was about to get their butt kicked six ways from Sunday.

“Er... would you believe they ended up there by magic?”

_ “Louie.” _

“... we took them,” Huey admitted in a quiet voice, rubbing his arm and staring at the floor.

“Yeah, we _ gathered _ that,” Donald replied as he slowly waded out of the pile. “You wanna explain _ why _you thought that was a good idea?”

“We... we thought that if they couldn’t find all their stuff, maybe they’d... maybe they’d change their mind about moving out,” Dewey explained, twiddling his thumbs nervously.

_ “What?!” _ Gosalyn shouted; when Launchpad looked down, he was shocked to see that there were tears in her eyes. “How... how _ could _you?!”

“Oh, Gosalyn, sweetie-!” Drake started.

“No! No, I wanna hear it! Why would you do this, I-I thought... I thought we were _ friends!” _

“We _ are _ friends!” Webby cried. “It’s, it’s just that Launchpad and Drake are our friends too, and-!”

“Yeah? Well, they’re _ my _dads now!” Gosalyn stamped her foot, glaring at them through tears. “Friends don’t do that! Friends don’t- don’t steal their friends’ dads’ stuff so they can’t live with their friend!”

“Gos, wait, we didn’t mean-!” Huey tried.

“I! Don’t! _ CARE!” _ Gosalyn screamed. “This is the _ one _thing I’ve wanted since my grandpa died! If you were really my friends, you wouldn’t have tried to take my dads away from me!”

All four of the other kids looked stricken, but none of them seemed to have a good answer to that, instead turning their gazes away from her. Gosalyn sniffed, then turned around and ran to Drake, who kneeled down and picked her up, hushing her softly. He looked at the other kids, disappointment clear in his eyes before he left the room with Gosalyn in tow.

“Okay. So. This is what’s going to happen,” Della started, voice level yet full of parental admonishment. “You three? You three are going to take _ all _of these boxes over to the moving van.”

“What?!” Huey shouted.

“All by ourselves?!” Dewey cried.

“That’ll take forever!” Louie argued, gesturing at the pile for effect. 

“You got them up here, you can get them back down.”

“But Webby is the one who got most of them up here!” 

“Well, I’m not Webby’s guardian, now am I?” 

“No, but _ I _am,” Mrs. Beakley said sternly. “Webbigail, you are to take the boxes down to the moving van as well.”

“That... seems fair,” Webby admitted quietly.

_ “Without _any of your spy gear.”

_ “WHAT?! _But- but Granny-!”

“No buts. You made your bed, you’ll lie in it.”

“And _ after _ you’re all done with that,” Donald started, crossing his arms. “You’re gonna apologize to Launchpad, Drake, and Gosalyn, and then you’re gonna march your butts back up here because you three? Are _ grounded.” _

_ “GROUNDED?!” _ All three boys cried.

“Yes, _ grounded. _ That means no TV, no computers, internet service on your phones goes off, and _ no _adventures to exciting places with Uncle Scrooge,” Della said emphatically.

“For how long?!”

“For... til college!” Della answered.

“For til college?!” Huey despaired.

_ “For til college!” _Della confirmed emphatically.

“Della, no,” Donald started with a shake of his head. “That’s too long.”

“Wh- no it’s- no, no, you’re right, that’s probably overkill.”

“So... we’re not grounded til college?” Dewey asked timidly.

“No, you’re not,” Donald replied. 

All three boys let out a sigh of relief.

“You’re grounded for two weeks.”

“Two _ weeks?!” _

“I mean, that’s a lot better than til college, but _ come on!” _Louie protested.

“Er... I’m not grounded til college either, right, Granny?”

“No, but you _ are _ grounded for two weeks as well. And I _ will _be confiscating your spy gear.” She leaned in. “And don’t think I don’t know where you’ve hidden your backups, young lady.”

Webby gulped, nodding silently. 

“L... Launchpad?” Dewey tried, the look on his face so vulnerable that it made Launchpad’s heart ache. “Come, you’re not... you’re not that mad at us, right? Tell- tell them you’re not mad at us.”

And to be honest, Launchpad wished with all his might that he _ could _say that, that he could tell Della, Donald, and Mrs. Beakley that it wasn’t a big deal and there had been no harm done, no need to punish anyone.

But, well, that would be a lie.

Because he’d seen the look on Gosalyn’s face when Drake carried her out of the room. He’d seen the hurt in her eyes.

And he knew, of course, that they didn’t _ mean _to hurt her- they were just kids, kids that didn’t want him to stop living with them.

They were his friends.

But Gosalyn?

Gosalyn was his _ daughter. _

“Launchpad...?” Louie asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Launchpad swallowed, then looked away.

“I... I really did think you guys were happy for me, you know.”

With that, he walked away, forcing himself to ignore the kids calling his name.

* * *

Mr. McDee had been kind enough to give Launchpad a few days off for the move. About fifty percent of that time was spent actually unpacking and setting up furniture- the other fifty was split pretty evenly between procrastinating and Gosalyn attempting to teach them the nuances of professional wrestling, which he half-suspected was an attempt on her part to avoid thinking about the other kids. 

In any case, by the time he pulled back up to McDuck Manor three days after the incident, he still hadn’t quite worked through his feelings about what had happened. 

He knew, of course, that it wasn’t fair to be too mad at the kids- they were just that, kids. Kids messed up all the time, they didn’t always think things through and didn’t always consider the feelings of others. He knew they didn’t mean to hurt him- to hurt Gosalyn.

At the same time, they _ did _ hurt him, and worse, they hurt _ Gosalyn. _

That was just a bridge too far for him.

So, instead of heading inside like he normally would, Launchpad decided to wait in the car, calling Mr. McDee to let him know that he was waiting for him. He got out when he saw Mr. McDee come out of the manor, escorting him to the car.

“You usually come in for a bit before we head out, Launchpad. You feeling alright?”

“Just fine, Mr. McDee. Just... thinking we should get on the road a little earlier than usual, that’s all.”

Mr. McDee didn’t seem to believe him, but didn’t call him on it as he helped him into the limo, freezing when he caught a glimpse of Dewey looking at him from the boys’ window. Launchpad swallowed, then looked away, turning back to the limo and walking back to the driver’s side door.

They left the manor in silence as usual- in fact, when Mr. McDee _ did _after they hit the usual traffic, Launchpad was so startled that he accidentally hit the horn and set off a series of angry honks.

“Sorry!” He called out the window, chuckling sheepishly. “Er, sorry, Mr. McDee, what were you saying?”

“I was saying that Della and Donald told me what happened with the kids.”

Launchpad flinched, swallowing hard as he looked straight ahead.

“Oh, uh, they did, huh?”

“They did indeed. Are... are you doing alright?”

“Oh, uh, yeah, it’s- Gos is, is fine. She’s... y’know. We’re dealing with it.”

“Uh-huh. And what about _ you, _Launchpad?”

Launchpad flinched again, then sighed.

“I just... I don’t get it. I really did think they’d be happy for me- that they _ were _happy for me. Why would they do that?”

“Well, they _ are _kids.”

“I know they are, but- but they could’ve _ talked _to me about it if- if they were that upset.”

“And how do you know they didn’t try?”

Launchpad paused, knitting his eyebrows together and glancing over his shoulder.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, think about it. You’ve been a bit wrapped up in your move, haven’t ya? Did you ever actually take the time to talk to them about what life was gonna be like from now on?”

“I... I guess not... but- but just because I’m not going to live with them anymore doesn’t mean I love them any less!”

“And did ya tell them that?”

Launchpad paused, swallowing and looking away.

“I... I guess not...”

“Well, there’s your trouble, then. They’re good kids at heart, but they’ve all gone through a lotta loss in their short lives, just like your daughter. Sometimes they just need reassurance that everything’s gonna be alright.”

“I... I see your point.” Launchpad smiled at his employer. “You know, you’re not half bad at this parenting thing, Mr. McDee.”

Mr. McDee snorted.

“I _ did _raise two children, Launchpad. Was I perfect? No. Did I know anythin’ about children? Course I didn’t! Could I have stood to pick up some books on parentin’? Probably!” He paused. “Where was I goin’ with this, I had a point.”

Launchpad laughed, then jumped when someone honked at him, realizing that traffic had cleared up.

“Oops! Sorry!” He called out the window again, quickly putting his foot on the gas. “Hey, Mr. McDee, how would you feel if I turned on the radio?”

Mr. McDee shrugged, grabbing his newspaper and opening it up.

“Sure, whatever.”

“Great!” Launchpad reached over and turned the dial.

_ “And if that’s what you have in mind, yeah, if that’s what you’re all about, good luck movin’ up cause I’m-!” _

He quickly turned it off.

“Or silence! Silence is good too.”

* * *

“I can’t believe you made me come here,” Gosalyn muttered as she got out of the car, folding her arms across her chest.

“We didn’t, Gos,” Drake reminded her as he closed her door. “We told you that we’d be coming by to pick you up a little later than usual because we were going to swing by McDuck Manor to talk to the other kids, and you insisted on coming too.”

“Because I thought I would be able to talk you out of it!” She snapped. “Why would you even want to try and talk to them, they’re a bunch of jerks!”

Launchpad sighed, walking over to their daughter and kneeling down.

“Gosalyn,” he started, “come on, you _ know _they aren’t a bunch of jerks.”

“Yes they are! Why else would they have tried to keep you guys from being able to move into our new house?”

“Come on, Gos, do you _ really _think they were trying to hurt you specifically?”

Gosalyn’s anger wavered slightly, and she looked away.

“Well... no... but that’s what it felt like!”

Launchpad sighed, reaching over and cupping her cheek.

“Yeah, I know. That’s because sometimes we don’t always think about how our actions might make others feel. Sometimes, even when we have the best of intentions, people get hurt. But that’s why it’s important to communicate and try to do better in the future. Nobody’s perfect, y’know?”

Gosalyn’s bill wobbled, but she still had a stubborn glare on her face, and Launchpad sighed again.

“Look, if you really don’t want to be friends with the other kids anymore, then that’s your choice and we’ll respect it, even if I don’t think it’s the right choice.”

“... Yeah?” Gosalyn asked quietly, glancing up at him.

“Yeah. But Gos? You gotta respect that we’re choosing to at least hear them out and see if we can fix the problem, even if you don’t like or understand why. We won’t make you forgive them, or be friends with them, but you can’t make us not forgive or be friends with them. Okay?”

“... okay,” Gosalyn agreed, taking a step forward and wrapping her arms around Launchpad’s neck. “But I still think they’re a bunch of jerks and I don’t wanna be their friend anymore!”

He sighed, wrapping his arms around Gosalyn and picking her up.

“That’s your prerogative and I respect that,” he started as they walked toward the front door, “but you’re also ten years old, and we can’t leave you in or by the car all by yourself.”

“Yeah, well, the only reason I have to go in at all is because you’re- aw, dang, I can’t say you’re being unreasonable cause you were just really reasonable a minute ago.”

Despite everything, Launchpad chuckled as he put her down just outside the door to the manor.

“Well, if it helps, you don’t have to see them. You can just wait with Della, Donald, and Mrs. B.”

With that, Launchpad rang the doorbell. A few seconds passed before Mrs. Beakley answered, flanked by Della and Donald.

“Hey, guys,” Della greeted, jerking her head towards the stairs. “Kids should be in their rooms.”

“Great. Thanks for letting us talk to them, by the way.”

“S’your funeral, pal,” Donald replied as he led them up the stairs and over to the boys’ room. 

Gosalyn slumped against the wall next to the door, keeping perfectly out of sight as Della knocked.

“Boys?” She asked as she opened the door. “Is now a good time for- Webby, did you crawl in here through the vents again?”

“Uhhhh... no?”

Della sighed, shaking her head.

“Well, whatever, saves us the trouble of having to go get you.” She cleared her throat. “Now, as you four know, you are still very much grounded as a result of your actions last week.”

“Yeah, Mom, we know,” Louie deadpanned. “Dewey’s written like, eight new Dewey Dew-night segments because he hasn’t had access to the internet.”

_ “Nine _segments, actually,” Dewey corrected. “It’s a lot easier to write more since Huey’s got nothing better to do than edit my work.”

“His spelling’s really improved since we started working with the Orthog-Gullyham Method,” Huey noted.

“Oh, really? Well, hey, great job, kiddo! I’m proud of ya,” Della said.

“Me too!” Donald added.

“We’re all very proud of you, Dewey,” Huey finished.

“Aw, thanks, guys!” Dewey paused. “Wait, is it just ‘be proud of Dewey for improving his spelling’ time, or was there another point to this?”

“Oh, right. No, we had another point to this. Ahem. You messed up, and you’re still in big trouble. However.”

“However?” All four kids chorused.

“However, it turns out that you’re very lucky, because there are a couple people here willing to hear you out.”

With that, Della stepped aside, allowing Launchpad and Drake to step into the doorway. Immediately, all four kids’ faces lit up.

“Launchpad! Drake!” Huey yelled as they all hopped up, only for all four to stop just short of tackling them in what was probably going to be a dogpile of a hug. “Wait, are... are you guys still mad at us?”

“No, Huey, we’re not still mad at you,” Drake started, folding his arms across his chest.

All four kids immediately sighed in relief.

“We _ are, _however, still disappointed,” Launchpad continued.

They all let out matching groans.

“Noooo, that’s even _ worse!” _Dewey cried.

“Can’t you just yell at us and get it over with?” Louie asked. 

Launchpad sighed, shaking his head as he walked into the room and sat in the middle of the floor.

“No, because that wouldn’t solve anything. So you know what we’re gonna do instead?”

“Go on a big, wild adventure where we solve our communication issues through teamwork?” Webby suggested.

“No, because one, you’re all still grounded,” Drake started as he walked over and sat down next to Launchpad, “and two, that won’t solve the core issue.”

“Then... what do you have in mind?”

“We’re all gonna sit right here and talk about what happened.”

All four kids groaned in unison.

“You mean we have to talk about our feelings?” Louie whined. “Can’t we just, I dunno, wash the Thunderquack or something?”

“Again, that wouldn’t really be addressing the root of the problem.”

“Yeah, but- but we’re McDucks!” Louie argued. “We don’t talk about our feelings! We keep them bottled up inside, and then one day we’ll all die!”

“Yeah! That therapist Mom and Uncle Donald have been making us go to still hasn’t cracked any of us!” Dewey paused. “Er, don’t tell Uncle Scrooge, he’d be mad if he knew he was paying for nothing.”

“First, please talk to your therapist, I can tell you from experience that it can help just to have a neutral party to talk to,” Drake started as he crossed his arms again. “Second, either you guys can talk, or we can all just stare at each other.”

“... is there a third option?”

“Nope.”

The kids groaned again, but didn’t immediately start talking. A few minutes passed in relative silence, the ticking of the clock the only sound in the room.

Then Huey sighed.

“... why do you guys have to move out at all?” He asked, sitting down across from Launchpad. “There’s plenty of room in the manor for all three of you!” 

“Yeah!” Dewey agreed as he sat down next to him. “You don’t even have to live in the garage anymore, LP, you could just- just move into Drake’s room, and then Gosalyn can have one of the other spare rooms!”

“And- and then we can all live together, and Webby and Mrs. B can homeschool Gosalyn too!” Louie added as he sat down as well.

“And Gos and I can have sleepovers every night, and- and you could turn the garage into a lair for Darkwing Duck stuff!” Webby finished as she sat down. “It would be perfect!”

Launchpad sighed, glancing at Drake.

“I know it _ sounds _perfect to you guys, but the thing is, it’s kinda hard to get an adoption request approved when you don’t have your own house.”

“Well- well isn’t that what that fancy adoption lawyer Uncle Scrooge hired for you is for? You said it yourself, she’s super scary and intense!” Dewey tried.

“Yeah, I did say that, but Mia’s not a miracle worker. She can’t scare the judge into letting us have Gos live here.”

“Then- then Uncle Scrooge can hire a whole _ team _ of scary and intense adoption lawyers! It can’t be _ that _hard to get them to agree!”

“Well, even if we _ could _get them to agree to let her live here, we kinda already bought the house.”

“Then sell it!”

“In _ this _economy?”

“Sell it to Uncle Scrooge, then!”

“Y’know, you seem to think that Mr. McDee’s gonna be able to solve everything here.”

“Well, yeah, _ duh! _ He’s the richest duck in the world, a house is probably _ pocket change _to him!”

“I won’t argue against that, but even if he was willing to buy the house back, and fund a whole team of lawyers to convince the judge to let Gosalyn live here, we _ still _wouldn’t do that.”

“What?!” All four kids cried.

“But- but why not?!” Huey demanded.

“Because part of being a grown-up is knowing when it’s time for a change, and right now? It’s time for me and Drake to start our new lives together.”

“Well, why can’t you just do that here?” Dewey asked. 

“Well, because we need the space to establish our own family.”

“And what’s so wrong with _ our _family, huh?!” Louie snapped, all but jumping to his feet.

Launchpad blinked, heart sinking a bit.

“What?”

“You keep- you keep saying things like ‘our own family’ and ‘our new life,’ but what was so bad about the family and life you had with _ us?” _ Louie was glaring at them, but his eyes were filling with tears and his bill was wobbling. “You’re _ our _family too, Launchpad! What did we do that made you so unhappy?! Why do you want to leave so bad?!”

Launchpad swallowed the lump in his throat, getting up on his knees and cupping Louie’s cheek.

“Is... is that really what you guys think? That I’m leaving because... because I don’t want to be part of your family anymore?”

“... why else would you leave?” Dewey mumbled, tears streaking down his cheeks. 

“Oh, kids,” Launchpad said with a quiet sigh, drawing all four of them into a hug. “Geez, Mr. McDee was right, I should have talked to you guys about all of this a lot sooner.”

“Wait, Uncle Scrooge talked to you about this?” Donald asked, seeming surprised.

“Yeah, he thought this might be what had happened. He actually had some pretty good advice.”

“... we’re... talking about Scrooge McDuck, right?” Della asked. “I mean, yeah, he _ raised _ us, but he wasn’t exactly the _ best _parent.”

Launchpad shrugged.

“Yeah, he said as much, but still, I think his advice wasn’t half bad in this case. Kids, you know I love you guys no matter what, right? Even if I don’t live in the same house as you anymore.”

“Well, yeah, but... what about Gosalyn?”

“I love Gosalyn too, but that doesn’t mean I love you any less. It’s not pie- you don’t have less of my love just because someone else has it too now. Besides, you guys know I’m still gonna be around all the time, right?”

“You... you are?” Huey asked.

“Of course! I mean, I still work for your great-uncle, and yeah, I might not be able to go on every single adventure anymore, but I’m not gonna just disappear into thin air!”

“You promise?” Dewey asked in a voice so soft and vulnerable that it made Launchpad’s heart ache, making all the memories of the times he’d been left behind come rushing back unbidden. 

Never. He’d never, ever, _ ever _do that to these kids.

“You kidding?” He said, pushing the emotions down as far as he could and plastering a grin on his face. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily!”

That finally got a laugh out of the kids, who all wrapped their arms around his neck and torso. He smiled, hugging them all back.

Then someone cleared their throat. 

“Oh, uh, Gosalyn...”

Gosalyn rubbed her upper arm, not looking at any of them. Huey sighed, letting go of Launchpad and turning towards her.

“Gosalyn, we’re sorry. We shouldn’t have tried to stop your dads from moving out, even if we were hoping that you’d move in with us.”

“S’okay. I’m sorry too, I... I shouldn’t have assumed you guys only wanted them to live here.” She looked up, eyes full of nervous hope. “Can... can we be friends again?”

“You kidding? We never stopped!” Webby gestured for her to come over. “Come on, Gos, get in here!”

Gosalyn grinned, running over and joining the group hug. She then reached over and pulled Drake in.

“You too, Dad!”

“Whoa! Ah-heh, alright, if you insist.”

Launchpad smiled, holding the kids close.

“... So, uh, are we still-?”

“You’re still grounded.”

“Yeah, saw that one coming.”

**Author's Note:**

> Change is hard. It helps to talk it out.
> 
> Today's story was inspired by the fact that, while I've seen quite a few fics where LP and Drake have moved into their new house with Gosalyn, I haven't seen any fics about what might happen when LP does eventually move out of the manor. I can't imagine the kids not being more than a little upset about it, but I also know that they are McDucks, and that family doesn't really talk about their feelings before those feelings become big problems. 
> 
> Thus, a poorly thought out plot to keep LP and Drake from moving out. 
> 
> Anyway, a few notes- the Orthog-Gullyham method is a reference to the Orton-Gillingham method, which is a process used to help dyslexic kids improve their reading and spelling abilities. Dyslexic!Dewey kinda popped into my head and stayed there after I saw a comic by dakt37 on tumblr, which was probably not the message the comic was going for but it's what my brain came up with.
> 
> And yes, I know according to Percy Jackson rules being ADHD/dyslexic makes Dewey a demigod. Do with that what you will ;)
> 
> That's it for now! Thank you for reading! As the hyperfocus monster is still on my back, I actually have a fic all ready to go for Friday, and it's a bit of a doozy, as we're gonna be looking at Drake and LP's first big fight as a couple and Launchpad's abandonment issues!
> 
> It's your turn, big guy.
> 
> (Also, uh, if I'm bothering anyone with how often I post, please let me know! I'm trying to stagger them out as best I can, but this has been an issue before. It was two years ago and a different fandom, but... well, it was not a fun time, and if someone's unhappy I'd rather know now than have someone blow up at me lmao)
> 
> Comments are always appreciated!


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